Philanthus gibbosus (Beewolf)

I got some nice wasp pictures today (as well as some reasonable but not great butterfly pictures. This is a beewolf. There are 31 species of beewolf in our area and about 140 worldwide. Although they are called beewolves because they prey on bees, their genus, Philanthus, means flower lover (phil = lover, anthus = flower). I find this to be a beautiful little wasp, with its shiny, dimpled, black and yellow exoskeleton. I love watching these fly around the mountain mint. I’d really be excited to see one capture a bee or other wasp to use as a host for her eggs but I’ve never seen that with this species.